Power of IP and Patents

Not only do patents enable you to commercialise ideas in a protected (read, uncontested) way, they also allow investors to confidently back novel ventures and concepts. Some innovations do require heavy investment to build and launch, and having a clear path to take these solutions to market provider investors with confidence as the products or solutions are built, typically over several years. Microsoft lead the pack when it comes to holding patents, and they state that getting patents right is critical – “Not only do they (patents) underpin the products and services that the company sells, they also stimulate ideas that keep it growing and competitive.”

Many counties around the world are either a first-to-invent or a first-to-file country. In 2013, the US changed to first-to-file. That means the entity with the patent lodged is the only one who can offer that innovation to the market. Pretty powerful when you consider that’s what RIP Global have done.

RIP Global identified a global issue – even with accounting software, in-house assistants or external bookkeepers, some small business owners and business professionals were spending tens of hours each week, working through invoicing paperwork. This task has been identified as one of the most onerous and hated tasks in surveys of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

The RIP Global solution is a cloud-based software product that removes a huge chunk of bookkeeping by automatically engaging the accounting process at the point-of-sale. RIP Global have worldwide patents on this, including those issued by WIPO (World Intellectual Property Office), in NZ, another one pending in NZ, and in the US, and several around the world.

When it comes to the power of patents, a ZDNET article gives a great case study as to the power of a patent when you commercialise your offer “Herman Hollerith acquired an early “business process” patent relating to the encoding of data as a series of punched holes which served as the foundation for his new company, “Tabulating Machine Company” (1896) that was the predecessor to IBM.”

CEO and Founder Mel Gollan explains “Ideas are easy, really novel ideas aren’t so easy, and then commercialising them is even harder. When the concept behind RIP Global was finalised, protecting that IP to build a business around, was crucial. Put simply, RIP will deliver an absolute no touch, end to end solution that is so good and so simple you’ll think you’ve died and gone to heaven. We integrate with all the big accounting solutions and we’re neutral as to payment methods.”

With a value proposition like that, and global patents, this is one solution to sign up for and one business to watch!